Completely Solitary
by keeping.hope
Summary: Clover has been chosen to play a game on a ship that will change everything. She left her life behind her for the second time in her life, except this time, her brother has gone missing in the game. How will she cope with her loss, and will she make it out alive? Slight Clover/Junpei, but not the focus of this fic. Oneshot for now. Might add a second chapter.


Clover was sitting on one of the bare cots in the big hospital room, thinking to herself. Snake was missing. Her own brother - the one who'd been there for her throughout the years... gone. How was it possible? It wasn't. The universe was playing a cruel practical joke on her. She shook her head ever so slightly, back and forth. It was the only thing keeping her even slightly sane.

Truly, she was slowly losing her sanity; but who, on that ship, wasn't? It was a lot to deal with for all of them, but for her especially. The sudden disappearance of her brother had begun to make her bitter, as well, apparently.

She came to this conclusion when she realized what she was thinking about.

"Why should they care?" the voice said. "All they want is his number."

She knew it wasn't true - or she hoped it wasn't - but the voice persisted. There was nothing she could do to stop the oncoming tirade of frantic thoughts. They kept coming, and would continue to come until... until when? Would they ever truly cease?

Perhaps being in the Nonary Game twice was too much for her. A girl of eighteen, already having risked her life twice. Not by choice either - never would she do such a stupid thing by choice. But, then again... choices didn't matter anymore, did they? Did anything matter? Without her brother there - as he had been in both games - she would surely die.

She couldn't make it out without him, that much she knew. Besides, she wouldn't want to live in a world without him. Smiling by her side and making snide comments in the most endearing of ways. Helping her up when she fell down. Instantly, too. He may have been blind, but he could find his way around better than most people with sight.

He'd never considered it a curse, or a disability, and neither had she. How could she, when he had gotten so skilled?

"If he had the choice," the voice continued. "I wonder if he would have stayed home that day."

The thought piqued her interest, which was surprising to her. Normally, she would have simply ignored the voice entirely. Then again, normally, she wouldn't be hearing voices at all. Still, it was an interesting question. One that she might never have an answer to. She couldn't imagine that he would've, though. He could visualize most objects, simply by touching them. It would be absurd to think that he would need sight, when he had made a point out of not caring.

"Enough of that," she thought to herself, finally having destroyed the voice. "It's about time to get up and look around."

And she agreed with herself. She giggled at the thought of that statement, and six pairs of eyes shot toward her. They met her gaze with one that suggested she had gone mad. Perhaps she had, but it wasn't a problem of hers yet.

However, their grim looks brought her back to reality. The smile dropped from her dainty face. Her usually fiery attitude was gone - perhaps forever.

"I just thought," she began. "That we could take a look around."

As soon as the words had left her barely moving mouth, the atmosphere changed. There had not been one single noise since Junpei had returned from the shower room. It had been possible to hear a needle drop. That quiet was suddenly and violently broken. It was as if Clover herself had set one million firecrackers in the room. It was painful to listen to.

"What does she mean?"

"-after Snake? He's dead!"

"I know, but she's delusion-"

"Don't say that!"

"She giggled. Facts are facts..."

Dead. Dead... dead... She rolled the word over and over in her mind. She hadn't paid much attention to the body, really. It was obvious that it had been his, though. Same clothing, same bracelet. It was barely worth looking at his face or body, as it had been completely defiled.

She couldn't bring herself to do it, though she knew she should have. Not back then, no; she had been in too much shock for any rational thinking. She ought've looked at his face, at least. To see if it was peaceful - if his eyes were closed. But she couldn't.

She was listening to six people talking over each other about her sanity, as if she weren't right in front of them, listening. This had brought a couple of things to mind. She had stopped listening long ago, and was merely watching them. She saw their mouths move, and realized how stupid the lot of them were.

Arguing of everything for hours at a time, when they only had nine hours in total to escape the ship. At least they weren't killing each other. Then, she stopped. Killing...

"Shut up! All of you!"

The voice, to her surprise, did not belong ot her. She was about to scream in frustration at them, but it appeared someone had beaten her to it. Junpei? Of course it was Junpei.

"Look, we aren't getting anywhere, and we really need to. Time is one thing we do not have right now. Who is going through which door?"

Ah, and he had been doing so well. If not for that last sentence, his monologue would have calmed them all down, and put them into motion. Alas, they were once again arguing over who got to go through which door. Lotus and Seven both wanted to go through the same door, but not together. Now, that would be a problem, huh? She smiled wryly, and resisted the overwhelming urge to slam her face into the nearest wall.

"I want Door One."

Everyone turned to look at Clover, who had gotten up. It was not surprising that she didn't realize she had spoken. It was certainly not the first time since the incident, and likely wouldn't be the last. Ace smiled reassuringly at her.

"All right, then Clover and I will go through Door One with... Junpei, could you give us a hand?"

"Huh? Oh, sure."

With that, Junpei went to stand by Clover and Ace, leaving the others to bicker. There was one outcome that they were alright with, so they split into teams as well. In mere moments, Clover had made her way to the door marked with a "1", with her partners. Soon, they had entered the door, and registered on the DEAD.

"Well, we'd better begin."

* * *

Inside the Captain's Quarters, she knelt down next to the bed, trying not to vomit. The body smelt positively awful, but there was more to her feelings of sickness. She forced herself to get up, despite the nausea. As she walked over to the captain, she tried to think.

Why? The motive was so well-hidden that it may as well have been non-existant; but she knew. Clover knew the motive, but it still didn't make sense. To kill a human being for a reason like that... it brought her a large range of emotions, simply thinking about such a thing.

She hoped her brother hadn't died for such a stupid reason. If he were to be killed, it ought to be for a damn good reason. That was what she figured, anyway. She pulled the dead man's sleeve up, slipping an object off his arm. She gazed at it for a moment, and went to put it in her pocket, when she felt something cool and metallic against her neck.

"Drop it," the voice commanded.

She complied, not wanting to die, and turned around slowly. The pair of eyes that met hers were cold and emotionless; they had once been warm and comforting, but those hours had passed. His true personality had come out.

It wasn't much of a shock, considering what he had done in the past. Still, it hurt. It reminded her that nobody was to be trusted. He quickly picked up the bracelet with the "0" on it, and put it in his pocket, before grabbing her arm and pulling. She tried to resist, but it was no use.

Screaming wouldn't work either; she could barely inhale enough oxygen to function. Her breathing was shallow as the man pushed her against the wall. It was covered in disgusting wallpaper, but it was about to get uglier. The knife in his hand glinted dangerously, as he held it closer to her throat.

"Goodnight, Clover. Say hello to your brother for me, will you?" he said, driving the knife forward, and-

He fell to the ground, knife clattering next to his lifeless body. The axe that had been used to murder the captain was lodged deeply into his back. Behind the dead man was the most beautiful person she had ever seen in her life.

Junpei was standing there, covered in blood, and it was honestly the most perfect thing she had ever seen. She ran forward, diving into his waiting arms. Hardly noticing where her feet were, she held on as tightly as she could. He did the same, whispering to her quietly.

"Let's get out of here."


End file.
